Apron panel for gliders



July 1, 1941. rr 2,247,703

APRON PANEL FOR GLIDERS Filed Dec. 23, 1939 INVENTOR Ava ore PJ/77/ ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APRON PANEL FOR GLIDERS Isidore P. Smith, Perrysbllrg, Ohio, assignor to The Hettrick Manufacturing Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio.

Application December 23, 1939, Serial No. 310,768

2 Claims.

This invention relates to articles of furniture but more particularly togliders or couches of the type having a spring supporting structure on which seat cushions are loosely placed and having a panel of metal or other similar material covering a portion of the glider front concealing at least a portion of the spring supporting strucl ture.

An object is to produce a structure of the above character in which the front apron panel can be readily and conveniently mounted without the use of bolts or nuts.

Another object is to provide a front apron panel for a glider or other similar article of furniture which can be applied to the frame parts by a snap action and which can be readily removed without the use of tools or separate fastening device.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation an embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a glider showing the apron panel attaching means in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the front frame cross bar and apron panel attached thereto;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the apron panel and front frame bar of the glider and showing the clip carried by the apron panel in engagement with the cross bar, the parts being shown in dotted line position to indicate the manner in which the clip is applied to the frame cross bar;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an end portion of the apron panel; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of one end of the glider.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a glider having a supporting frame provided with a pair of upright end panels I0 to which are connected a pair of spaced substantially U-shaped tubes H so arranged as to support the end panels ID in the desired position. As will be readily understood by those skilled in this art, the glider seat structure generally indicated at I3, is suspended from the upright end panels by pairs of pivotally mounted hangers l2, two being disposed at each side of the glider. The hangers 12 are pivotally connected at their lower ends to legs l4 depending from the seat frame 15. The detail construction of the seat frame is not considered necessary but as will be understood by those skilled in this art, it includes a horizontally extending front bar It of angle iron and from opposite ends of the bar l6 extend rearwardly side angle bars ll.

Secured to the frame I5 is a coil spring sup porting structure of the usual type made up of a series of crisscrossing Wire rods suitably carrying vertically disposed coil springs l8 generally helical in shape but which taper from top to bottom, the smaller portion being disposed at the lower end. It will be understood that a sizable number ofsprings 18 are employed spaced laterally from each other and anchored at the top and bottom ends to a suitable frame work, all of which is well-known to those skilled in this art so that further description and illustration is not considered necessary.

At the rear end of the seat frame I5 is a suitable back frame (not shown) against which loosely rest cushions IS, in this instance three cushions being employed Resting loosely on the coil spring supporting structure are suitable cushions 2B which are identical with each other and may be interchanged or reversed as desired. In this instance, a sheet metal panel 2| extends across the front of the glider and is disposed in upright position against the front frame cross bar i6. Preferably the panel 2| is of light gauge sheet metal, although it may be of any other suitable sheet material and as shown, a portion extends above and a portion below the frame bar It. It will be noted that the upper portion of the apron panel 2| is disposed in front of and covers the lower portion of the spring supporting structure but the upper edge of the panel is located a substantial distance below the top of the coil springs I8.

The remaining exposed portion of the coil spring supporting structure is covered by a covering or envelope 22 of textile fabric or other suitable flexible material. If desired, the envelope 22 may cover only the front portion of the coil spring supporting structure. The lower portion of the cover of envelope 22 is disposed in rear of and below the top edge of the apron panel 2| and to insure that it will be held in the desired position, a hook 23 engages the lower edge of the crossbar l6 and is flexibly connected by a strap 24 to the covering 22. 'As shown, threev hooks are provided at spaced intervals so that the covering 22 will be held in the desired position at all times throughout the front portion of the glider.

It will be manifest that spacing of the upper edge of the apron panel 2| below the seat cushions 20 is of importance since it enables a person sitting upon the seat cushions to compress the coil spring supporting structure without hitting against the upper edge of the panel 2 I.

The apron panel 2| is retained in position by clips 25 which are secured, as by welding, to the rear face of the panel 2|. In this instance, two clips 25 are employed although the number may be varied as desired. As shown, each clip 25 consists of .a vertical portion 26- which is preferably secured by welding to the panel 2| and at the lower end of the portion 26 is. an inwardly extending lip 21.

21. The arms 26 and 28 of theclip are substantially equal in length to the width of the vertical and horizontal portions respectively of the angle iron cross bar I6. This enables the panellto be readily snapped into engagement with the crossbar l6 as indicated .by the dotted line position of the parts on Figure 3. It is merely necessary to hook the lip 29 over the edge of rearwardly extending portion of the cross bar-and then swing the apron panel downwardly so that the clip is snapped into place with the lip 21 engaging the ed e of the vertical portion ofthe .bar IS. The .clips are preferably' of sheet metal having sufii- -cient1strength and resilience to effect the desired snap action. 7

shown, the opposite ends of the-apron panel 2 I. are formed with rearwardly extending portions oriwings 30, each having a notch3l to afford clearance-for glider parts disposed at .opposite ends of the glider inside of the end panels 32. As indicated in Figure 5, at each end of theglider isan uprightplate or panel 32 which has a horizontally disposed arm rest 33 at the upper end;

Fixed to thezplate 32 is a brace rod 34 which is tdetachablyl secured in anysuitable manner to the adjacent sidebar l1 structure ofnthe mounting of the plate 32 forms no part. of the presentinvention, further description and illustration is not considered necesea s!- 1 v It is apparentfromthe above description that Since the remaining detail From ,the upper end of the vertical portion 26 extends a horizontal-portion 28 which terminates in a downwardly extending lip 29 which is considerablylonger than the lip the sheet metal apron panel 2| can be readily and conveniently mounted in position of use or detached as desired without the use of separate fastening device or special tools. In order to;

apply the panel to the frame bar I6, it is merely necessary to tilt it to the desired position in order to engage the clips and then by a rocking motion, snap the clip into retaining position. The contact between the clips 25 and the angle bar l6'is suflicient to hold the panel securely in 7 place against accidental displacement.

It is to be understood that numerouschanges in detailsof construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is: V 1'. Inxa glider having a seat frame mounted V fcrswinging movement between laterally spaced upright interconnected end frames, said seat frame; including an angle bar horizontally disposed across thefront of said fr'ame,a vertically disposed sheet metal panel extending, across the front of said bar; and a series of; inverted L- shaped clips fixed to the rear face ofsaid .panel between the top and bottom edges thereof, each clip having an integrallipat the free end of each arm of the L, one lip being long-er than the other toafiord snap on engagement with said angle bar, said clip means providing the'sole means whereby said panel is attached to said angle bar;

2. In a glider havinga seat frame mounted-for swinging movement between laterally spacedupright interconnected endframes, said seat frame including an angle bar horizontally disposed across the front ofsaid-frame, avertically disposedsheet .metal panel extending across the front of said bar, and a series of inverted L shaped clips fixed tothe rear face of said panel between the top and bottom edges thereof, each clip having an integral lip at the free end of each arm. o'fxthe L, said clip means providing the sole means whereby said-panel is. attached to said angle bar. r

ISIDORE P. SMITH. 

